Mirror attachment for automobiles



. Nov. 24, 1942.

J. F. PFEIFER 2,302,952

MIRROR ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES I Filed April 14, 1941 INVENTOR 'J.F.PFEIFER ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNITED STATES, PATENT FFICE 2 Claims.

This invention appertains to vehicle attachments, and more particularly to a novel device for facilitating the safe passing of automobiles on a congested highway.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a novel arrangement of mirrors, by means of which the driver of an automobile can see around and in front of the car (for instance, a large moving van) immediately ahead to determine whether the road is clear so that the passing of the car ahead can be accomplished in safety.

Another important object of my invention is to provide an opaque shield or guard associated with the drivers vision mirror of the deivce in a novel manner, whereby the driver will be prevented from seeing his own reflection and the interior of his car in the mirror, so that he will not be distractedor confused thereby, and will be permitted a clear view of the road ahead reflected from the road mirror onto the driver's vision mirror,

A still further object of my invention is to pro-' vide a novel attachment for automobiles of the above character, which will be durable and eflicient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be associated with an automobile at a small cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed,

and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in i which drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my novel device.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of my appliance.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the mounting of certain of the mirrors.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating one means for adjustably mounting the inner mirror supporting arm on the main bracket rod.

Figure 5 is a detail, horizontal, sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating one form of means for adjustably mounting the shade or shield on the inner or driver's vision mirror.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the

which is adapted to be associated with an automobile A. Only a fragment of the automobile A has been shown, and the same can be of any preferred size, make, or style. The automobile A includes a front door hinge Ill.

The device D includes the main supporting rod l5, which is adapted to be secured to the lefthand side of an automobile forwardly of the drivers seat. The inner end of the rod l5 can be secured in any desired way to the side of the automobile, and, as shown, the rod carries a U- shaped bracket l6 for straddling the hinge III of the front lefthand door of the automobile. The pintle i l for the hinge I0 is utilized for holding the U-shaped bracket iii in place.

The rod l5 supports an outer or road mirror I! and an inner or driver's vision mirror I8. I prefer to employ a split ball socket I9 for adjustably connecting the mirror ll to the rod I5, and this socket i9 is secured to the rod l5 in any suitable way; such as by a bolt 20. The mirror I! can be formed in a manner best suited to the taste of the manufacturer, and the rear face of the mirror carries a rearwardly extending stem 2|, having formed thereon or secured thereto a ball head 22 for reception in the split socket It. A bolt 23 can be employed for tightening the socket around the ball 22, so as to prevent loose play between the mirror and the rod IS.

The inner or drivers vision mirror It is adiusta'bly mounted on the outer end of an L- shaped arm 24.' This arm carries an adjustable clamp 25 for frictionally gripping the rod l5,- and by loosening and tightening the clamp 25, the arm can be held in different adjusted positions along the length of the rod. The mirror I8 is adjustably connected to the outer end of the L- shaped arm 24 in the same manner as the mirror I! is connected to the rod [5, and, hence, the front face of the mirror carries a ball 26 for reception in a friction split ball socket 21.

From the construction so far it can be seen that the mirrors I! and I8 can be readily swung to different adjusted positions relative to one another, so that when the device D is connected to a certain type of automobile, the driver will be enabled to move the mirrors to selected positions, which will enable him to see ahead clearly, and to see the righthand side of the road by looking into the mirror iii.

- by looking into the mirror [8, will 'be enabled to letter D generally indicates my novel device,

see the reflection of a car ahead of an automobile immediately in front of his car, and this will enable him to pass automobiles in safety on congested highways.

The rear 0: non-reflecting face of the mirror H can be provided with a red reflector 28, while the front non-reflecting face of the mirror It can be provided with an amber colored reflector 29. These reflectors 28 and 29 will pick up the rays of automobile headlights and enhance safe driving at night.

In the adjustment of the mirror l8, the driver of the vehicle is often enabled to see his own reflection in the righthand face of the mirror, or the interior of his car. This tends to distract or confuse the driver.

In order to eliminate this reflection, I provide an opaque shield or guard 30, and this shield is I formed from non-reflecting material. As illustrated in Figure 2, the shield 30 is preferably of a quarter-moon shape, and one end of the same is mounted on a pivot stud 3| carried by the frame of the mirror 29. The pivot stud is provided with a head, and the shield is held tight against the mirror, so that the same will be held by friction in an adjusted position. By mounting the shield on the pivot stud, the shield can be swung in and out for blocking out more or less of the reflecting face of the mirror ill at the righthand side thereof (see Figure 2). Other means can be utilized for adjustably mounting the shield on the mirror.

The rod i5 can also be utilized for supporting a rear view mirror 32, and this rear view mirror is adiustably mounted on the rod in any manner deemed advisable by the manufacturer of the appliance.

Changes in details may be made which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my claims, and what I claim as new is:

1. In a mirror attachment for automobiles for permitting the observing of traffic-in front of a car immediately ahead of an automobile equipped with the attachment including, a straight supporting rod, an outer road mirror adjustably mounted on the outer end of the rod having a front reflecting face, means carried by the inner end of the rod for securing the same to an automobile, an L-shaped arm having its inner end adjustably mounted on the rod for longitudinal movement thereon between the ends of the rod, and a second mirror adjustably'mounted on the outer end of the L-shaped arm disposed in advance of the first mirror and having a rear refleeting face for receiving an image from said first mirror.

2. In an attachment for automobiles, a round mirror, an opaque crescent-shaped shade disposed over the reflecting face of the mirror, and means pivotally securing one end of the shade to the edge of the mirror, whereby the shade can be swung to different positions over the mirror or to one side of the mirror.

JOHN F. PFEIFER. 

